Shoe Bomb Joke on Plane Lands Missouri Groom-to-Be in Jail

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis man landed in jail for joking about shoe bombs after he boarded a plane.

Michael Shafermeyer, 30, spent more than three days behind bars after making what he says was a joke at Lambert Airport.

When a flight attendant asked him to close his laptop after boarding on Saturday, Shafermeyer told KMOV-TV in St. Louis that he jokingly asked her, “Are you the one who checks for shoe bombs?”

He was flying to Maryland to get married and had had a few drinks, the station reported.

Within minutes, federal agents removed him from the plane. He was booked at the St. Louis County jail and placed in solitary confinement, where he spent two-and-a-half days before being placed with other inmates on his final day.

The prisoners welcomed him with a standing ovation, he said.

Shafermeyer was released on Tuesday. He has been charged with making a false bomb report, he told KMOV-TV.

Shafermeyer still plans to get married in Maryland, he said — but this time, he’ll take the train.